Display hanger



Jan 10, 1961 E. E. scHAEFl-:R 2,967,623

DISPLAY HANGER Filed Aug. 15, 195s IN VEN TOR. l/'dzz/anc/zae 7; A

BY DW, i

i null! MEW Unit@ DISPLAYJHANGER Edward-E. Schaefer, l1534.1Jark Ave., Riverrorpesf, nl. Enga Aug, 1s, 195s,ser.'No. 755,221 zvclaims. (cl. z114s) i y This invention relatesv to hangers and more particularlyrelates to improvements in-l display hangers `of the typeV used to display-nisheddry goods such as bedspreads, draperies, or the like.

One of the problemsencountered indisplaying-larger sized finished drygoods such yas bedspreads and draperies is ithatof `providing a hanger construction which permitsa rapid=and simple mounting ofthe goods onthe hanger and removal therefrom without having to thread the goods through the hanger. Heretofore, the typical closed loop type hanger required careful` threading o f thel goods though the hanger loop whiclrwas, time consuming and often resulted-inthegoods becoming soiled-or wrinkled Thepresent invention oiers a solution to this problem.

in the form ofv an improveddisplay hanger` of the type having-separable Vcrossbar and support members which permit the hanger to be slippedaround vor removedfrom a bedspread or like articlewithoput appreciably'moving the article relative to the hanger.

Accordingly, it is ageneral object' of the .presentginz vention to'provide an improvedl displayhanger forfnisheddry Vgoods artic-les, such asbedspreads, draperies, and the like.

Y Another objectofthe present'invention is to provide an improvedv display .hanger adapted for displaying bulky dry goods articles-or the. like,- said hanger, being constructed and-arranged'so asto befrapidly engageableand disengageable therefrom vwithout the necessity of threading the articles through the hanger.-

OtherA objects and advantagesfof the inventionwill becomeapparent in the following detailed description and accompanying sheet ofzdrawings, in which:

Fig.' 1 is an elevational view. of a display harlgeryconfy Fig..5 is anV enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken..

along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is an end View of the display hanger of Figs. 1 and 2, as viewed from the right thereof;

Fig. 7 is aneenlanged'fragmentaryectional view taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. S -is a view similar to`Fig. 7, but showing an alternate end connection construction at the right end oithe hanger; and f Fig. 9.?is-,an end View as seen Fig. 8.

Briefly described; thepresent linvention comprises an improvedxdisplay hanger for-bulky dry goods articles, suchj as bedspreads,l draperies, and the like, having a separable support member that includes an expansible shank hook and crossbar which permits the hanger to be slid or moved around the object to be displayed therefrom without the necessity of threading the article through the hanger loop and over the crossbar.

States Patent 2,967,623 Patented Jan. 10, 1961 Ffice Tothis end, thecrossbar of thephangerlincludes-nov ly.. projecting pinnand'socket type;endfrcQnnectionsgfor gagement with the support member thereof, the latter-.fpbeing formed with complementallyshaped loopandfprojecting pin type ends for engagement.withthecrossbargl end connections.. The support memben-is ofaonepiece; wire construction bent to form an integralpdouble thick,- ness loop or centrally. disposed hook, the shankportionsif thereof being expansibleand; extended horizontally,` as;V bars. The bars extendgenerally parallelV tothefcrossbar.- in spaced relation and the ends.V thereof depend dovvrk,V wardly. and terminate asfafloopandfan :inturned endgfor., engagement with the; end .conneotionsat-.each endfot the crossbar. Theresiliency. of the wire material. ofthe su port'member is such .astopermitthe latter 'to be distort or elongated. so that thelooped end thereof becomesld engaged from the outwardly` projecting pin ofuthe. cross,... bar end connection, thereby to separate the .support rrrerngfu ber and. permit the hanger to be moved* into engagement around -anarticle to` besupported and displayed therefrom.

In Figs.. land 2, adisplayhange'r 10 isl illustrated ,which` is-constructed according tov the principles ofj theV present, invention` andl which accomplises the aforementioned .obijects. y The display hanger l'generajllycomprises.atnbuf lar article :supporting crossbarllaud a; disengageableor. separable f support Ymember k 1li?.k .which includes an integgal upright. hookportion 13 havinglaterallyy disposed'.bau* portions 14 extending oppositerlyl from the baseofthe. hooleY 13.. A/prair of. end connections 15'and16, at the,... left and .right -ends -oi the, crossbar 11, respectively, v.prof y vide .a detachable connection otrthe'sup'port member'12 to they crossbar- 11, as Y will hereinafter be.. merel f ully.v described. o

The crossbar 11 ispreferably tubular in shape. and may be` formed from metal, plastic, or otherQmQteIials. havingsutiicient strength to support the. larger sizedrdry. goods; articles. The crossbar 11 includes a pairof axial-4 lypspaced tubular sleevesor bushings. 1'1"(Fig. 3.).formed. from rubber or similarv materiahf and.l non-rotatably secured .to the .crossbarvv 11.. The .external surfaces of sleeves17 may beridged, asqatl, to .prevent anfa'rticle', from l sliding oY of the.` crossbar 1-1. when.. supported?. thereon. It .will be understood that .the number, 'sp'aci`r`1g,',ki and'construction ofthe sleeves 17may.be, vared'as, required for a particular` hangertsize. n

Aswill.be lseen from Figs.. 1,ar1d.2v,the,supportmern.-r ber 12v is ot `a one-piece resilient wire.constructionv which.. is-bentto form an integral double thickness A.hookl'S.andi laterally extending, bar portions L4. The. hook. 131 is..v formedl by bending thev support member-,wire :into japon-1. gruentl pair of superposed loops, v each loop beingindi, catedV respectively at V13a andf13b, and .havin-g, respec shank portions 21a and 2lb, which.extendilaterally.. barv portions 14. The loops 13a` and .13b andthesh portions Zlatand 2lb. are normally. in substantially. co gruent alignment when the support member 12. isinasf sembled relationship. with. the crossbar 11,. thesel portiQIlS being resiliently movable by distortion inv scissor-like,` fashion to permit engagement anddiseng'agement k fjthel supportmember 1,2. at theend .connection 4.15. fromthe, crossbar 11.v u i n Theouter ends 22;of.the.bar portions 14. arer bent. downwardly and have their remote lowerendsformed. to complementally engage .the end connections .15andf1`;6. In this ,instance the. left end 22 is formed'with a loop 2,3, and the. right end is formed with an inturnedendZL-l (Figg.

7)A for engagement withv the. end. cO1'1'nectij4I'1YS115A4 anda;

alignment with the axis of the crossbar 11. The axial spacing between the downturned ends 22 i s such that the inturned end 24 and loop 23 are normally biased inwardly against the end connections and 16 with a slight cornpressive force, thereby preventing accidental disengagement.

As best shown in Fig. 5, the end connection 15 preferably comprises a plug-like member of metal or plastic having a cylindrical body portion 26, an annular collar or shoulder portion 27, and an outwardly projecting pinlike portion 28. The body portion 26 has a tight pressfit with the interior of the tube 11 and the collar 27 abuts the annular end face of the tube 11. The pin portion 23 is rigid with the body 26 and has a diameter somewhat less than the inside diameter of the loop 23 so that the loop 23, is freely engageable and disengageable there-` from. The length of the pin portion 28 is such as will permit its extension through the loop 23 when the support member 12 is engaged with the crossbar 11, and to permit disengagement from the loop 23 when it is desired to display an article on the hanger.

As will be seen from Figs. 6 and 7, the end connection 16 comprises a tubular plug-like member or bushing 31 having `a press fit in the end of the tube 11 and comprising a cylindrical wall portion 32 and a base 33. A cap member or ferrule 34 of plastic or the like is tted over the-end of the crossbar 11. The base 33 of the plug-like member 31 and the cap member 34 each have central bores 36 and 37, respectively, for receiving and journaling the inturned wire end 24. It is to be noted that the inturned end 24 has an axial length sufficient to insure an engaged supporting relationship in the bores 36 and 37 throughout the normal range of movement of the support member 12. The inner end of the inturned end 24 may be staked or enlarged in order to prevent disengagement from the end connection 16, if desired.

The operation of the display hanger 10 is as follows. Assuming that the hanger 10 is in an initial assembled position, as shown in full lines in Fig. l, and it is desired to display a bedspread or drapery therefrom without threading the latter through the hanger 10, it is first necessary for an operator to disengage the wire support 12 from the crossbar 11. This may be accomplished by concurrently grasping the tube 11 and the left-hand bar portion 14 or its downturned end 22 at the left end of the hanger and spreading the two away from each other such that the loop 23 is forced outwardly on the pin portion 28, and disengaged therefrom. As a result, the shank portions 21a and 2lb of the hook are resiliently expanded as shown in the lowermost dotted line position in Fig. 1. The loop 23 is thus disengaged from the pin portion 28 and the support member 12 can be pivoted about the end connection 16 to the uppermost dotted line position illustrated'in Fig. l. The aforementioned resilient expansion is afforded by the one-piece wire construction of the support member 12 and the double thickness superposed loop and shank portions of the hook 13. When thus disengaged, the crossbar 11 may then be slid under or moved around an article to be displayed therefrom without disturbing the article from its previous position, such as on a display rack or while folded on a table. Once the article has been positioned over the crossbar 11, the loop portion 23 is reengaged with the pin 28. The hanger 10, together with the article supported thereon may then be moved to any desired display position and supported by the hook 13 in a well known manner.

Referring now to Figs. 8 and 9, an alternate end construction 40 for the right end of the crossbar 11 is illustrated, the end connection 40 being arranged to prevent relative rotation between the crossbar 11 and support member 12. The end connection 40 comprises a pluglike member having a cylindrical body portion 41 press fitted in the tube 11 and a collar portion 42 of somewhat greater diameter than the outside diameter of the crossbar 11. The body portion 41 and collar portion 42 are centrally axially bored, as at 43, to receive the inturned wire end 24 in a manner similar to the arrangement shown in Fig. 7 of the first-described embodiment.

The outer end face of the collar 42 is formed with a diametrical groove or slot 44, which preferably has a depth somewhat greater than the radius of the wire end 22. It will be apparent that the inward resilient force of support member 12 at the ends 22 will serve to seat the depending end 22 in the slot 44 and thereby prevent rotation of the crossbar 11 once these parts are engaged in their Fig. 8 position. The end connection 40 thus prevents rotation of the tube 11 relative to the support member 12 and is thus particularly advantageous where heavy articles are to be displayed which might otherwise roll olf of the crossbar 11 due to an uneven positioning thereon.

While only certain specific embodiments of invention have been described, it should be understood that other modifications and variations may be etected without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A display hanger comprising an elongated crossbar having an axial opening at one end thereof and a reduced diameter axial projection extending rigidly from the opposite end thereof, and a supporting frame comprising a single piece of resilient wire doubled centrally upon itself and curved to provide a normally superposed but resiliently spreadable double hook portion for the hanger, said wire extending outwardly in opposite directions from the base of said hook portion generally parallel to said crossbar and thence laterally toward said crossbar, one end portion of the wire being formed into a substantially closed loop of smaller diameter than said opposite end of said crossbar for receiving and encircling said axial projection and the other end portion of said wire being inturned and extending axially into said opening in said one end of said crossbar, the distance between the laterally extending portions of the wire being such that said loop and the inturned end portion of the wire are normally biased axially inwardly against the respective ends of said crossbar for normally retaining the crossbar and frame in fully connected relation and resisting accidental separation thereof, and said double hook portion being resiliently spreadable from its normally superposed relation for axially displacing said loop outwardly and disengaging the same from said projection.

2. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said crossbar comprises a tubular member having a pair of plug-like members fitted in its opposite ends, one of said members being axially bored to receive the inturned end of said wire and the other of said members being formed with an integral reduced diameter axial extension providing said projection.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNTTED STATES PATENTS 447,419 Wheeler Mar. 3, 1891 1,512,130 Pardue Oct. 21, 1926 1,692,084 Gerard Nov. 20, 1928 2,620,954 Lundman Dec. 9, 1952 2,655,296 Winzer Oct. 13, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 456,411 Great Britain Nov. 9, 1936 512,926 Belgium Oct. 14, 1952 

